wow

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted! I wonder if anyone even reads my blog anymore! Well, readers or no readers, this has been a source of accountability for me, and it's time for me to get back to it.

Let's get right to the point: I've gained some weight. Not a lot, just about 8-9 pounds - I thought that was pretty good, keeping off that much of the 43 pounds I lost 3 years ago! However, I've completely stopped exercising and with all the trouble we've had this year (with our house and everything we own and Brian's job), I started eating badly. Fast food, ice cream, fast food, etc. I'm a stress eater, it's no secret. Even though I've only gained 8-9 pounds, it seems like 25 - all of the muscle I had acquired has turned into fat. BELLY fat, of course.

So today I went clothes shopping and was horrified to see what I looked like in those store lights and 3-way mirrors! I swore when I lost the weight before that I would NOT let myself get huge again, so I am going to have to take drastic measures RIGHT NOW! I gave away all my "fat" clothes, so if I don't do something now, I'm going to have to buy new clothes in bigger sizes and that's just not an option.

Brian is on board too - he needs to lose a few pounds. Of course, I think he looks hot, but his doctor says he needs to lose some. Since we work late into the evening and rarely have dinner before 8:00, exercising at night is kinda hard - we're exhausted after dinner. The only way we're going to fit exercise into our crazy schedules is to do it first thing in the morning.

OK, we are NOT morning people. We both start work at 10:00, so we are NOT up early. We appreciate our sleep. We love our sleep. We have tried before to get up early to exercise. This time it HAS to work! It just HAS to! So I'm blogging about it, cause if we don't do it, I'll be embarrassed since I wrote about it online!

Tomorrow is the day. The cats have been waking us up at 7am every day for awhile now, so tomorrow, we're just going to take the hint and get up. You guys root for us, ok? If we can do it tomorrow, we will prove to ourselves that we can do it!! I'm so motivated! I'm going to look for healthy recipes now!

stop this train

Well, I'm turning 35 tomorrow. I have a quiet day planned; I'm finished preparing for my lessons for Tuesday except that I need to take some things over to the classroom. I also need to run to Lowe's. Other than that, the house is clean and I'm planning to scrap the day away. Brian is in charge of dinner - we haven't decided if he's cooking or if we're going out. Not an exciting birthday, but a pretty good one in my book.

And I can't quite articulate my feelings about this birthday. I'm not really sad or worried...I'm reflective. Lately, I can't get enough of John Mayer's "Continuum," so I'll let this song explain it for me:

No, I'm not colorblind
I know the world is black and white
Try to keep an open mind
But I just can't sleep on this tonight

Stop this train, I wanna get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in, I know I can't
But honestly, won't someone stop this train

Don't know how else to say it
Don't wanna see my parents go
One generation's length away
From fighting life out on my own

Stop this train, I wanna get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in, I know I can't
But honestly, won't someone stop this train

So scared of getting older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game
To find a way to say that life has just begun

Had a talk with my old man
Said, "Help me understand."
He said, "Turn sixty-eight,
You renegotiate...

Don't stop this train, don't for a minute change the place you're in
And don't think I couldn't ever understand, I tried my hand,
So honestly, we'll never stop this train."

Once in awhile when it's good
It'll feel like it should
And they're all still around,
And you're still safe and sound
And you don't miss a thing
Till you cry when you're driving away in the dark,

Singing stop this train, I wanna get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in, I know I can't
Cause now I see I'll never stop this train

vacation pictures

I am aware that it's still my birthday month. I have things to say, but I'm trying to put them into words.

Jesus Christ, Superstar was awesome!! Corey Glover, who used to be the lead singer of Living Colour, a cool band from the late 80s/early 90s, played the character of Judas. He was amazing! I'm so glad we got to see this play!! I love the music, too! I recommend seeing it if you have the chance.

OK, here are some pictures from vacation.
This is Sofiya, the one-month-old leopard we got to see! Can you believe it?!!
This bear loved peeking at us from his pool.
Brad & Kari on the top level of Busch Stadium.
Brian's first Major League game!
Many things were explained.
Mandi & I at the arch.
Brian in the top of the arch. A conversation between Brian and I at the top of the arch:
Brian - I can feel it moving.
Me - Yeah, it has to move a little or it would just fall right over!
Brian - Let's not use the words "fall right over!"

Mandi & Brad in the arch.
In Tennessee, Mama Taylor took us out to see her corn.
Brian at the World of Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta.

happy june!

June is my birthday month and I have lots of thoughts about that. But they are for another day.

I've been scrapping this weekend! It's the big kickoff of Summer Scrapfest at Lifetime Moments!! I love Scrapfest - it always motivates me to get lots of stuff done. So I was scrapping on Saturday and got up from my desk for just a minute, and when I came back, I found this:
Come on! How am I supposed to scrap?! =^..^=

Anyway, here are some of the projects I did over the weekend. Enjoy.

a HUGE waste of time

Last night, Brian and I watched Cloverfield. It is truly unfortunate that I will never get that hour and a half of my life back. I like most movies, but this one was simply ridiculous. There was no point!! Let me warn you of possible spoilers now (I'm SO rolling my eyes) - but here's the plot: a monster attacks Manhattan. That's it!! They didn't bother with details such as where the monster came from, if it was ever destroyed, what happened to Manhattan, etc. It was just this attack and then the movie ended. My opinion: don't waste your time.

8 random things

OK, just to let you know how behind I am on reading blogs, I just now saw that Tara tagged me back in JULY for the 8 random things meme! Ugh. I have been way too busy. Sorry Tara! At least I caught up today on your blog and am continually amazed at the funny and important things happening in your life, your amazing work and boss, the brilliance of your child, your no-nonsense writing style, and our shared makeup fetish. :-)

So - here are my 8 random things:

1. I count everything.

2. I prefer that things I count be in multiples of four. I will go to great lengths to MAKE things into multiples of four.

3. I can't stand it when people use bad grammar. I also hate it when people misspell really common words, like too, you're, and definitely.

4. I honestly believe that my cats are going to live forever. =^..^=

5. I am probably the most hot-natured person that you know. When everyone else is comfortable or even cold, I'm sweating - and I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt!

6. I have started working out with a personal trainer - he pushes me so hard that I can barely walk out of the gym!

7. I'm really enjoying my thirties! What was I so afraid of?

8. I know binary. I learned it when Brian and I were dating. He was impressed. (Have you noticed my obsession with numbers?)

Now I have to tag some people:

Brad
Leslie
Mandi
Stephanie
Jason
Christi

(If some of you have already done this, sorry! I can't remember.)

so much to say

I keep meaning to blog, but there just isn't time. And when there is time, I can't stay awake to do it!

Sunday, October 28, was our 7th anniversary. We celebrated by going to the beach for part of the weekend. We stayed at a beautiful beach house and just lazed around and ate pastries - it was divine and just what we needed! I have a picture of us on the beach but my camera is at my KM classroom right now. :-P I'll upload it later.

Life just seems to keep getting busier. I really need to lighten my load. Some changes are in the works, but I will post about those later after proper notifications have been made and decisions have been finalized. I could use a few prayers, too!

Here's some really big, important, exciting news: We are going to have yet ANOTHER niece or nephew! Yep, folks, my brother's wife is pregnant. Braden is going to be a big brother! I am just ecstatic! This will make #5 for us! We have Emma, Braden, Will, Angela is pregnant with #4, and Kari is pregnant with #5! Yay for Uncle Brian and Aunt Sis!

Kindermusik keeps getting better. The kids are really opening up and getting used to me, and to each other, and to class. At one point yesterday I had like 3 or 4 kids on my lap at the same time. I LOVED it! Lately, I hate for class to end! :-) I am so fortunate to be able to do this. I love it so much!

The coolest thing happened yesterday. Last week, I had been complaining and joking with one of my piano students' moms about how Florida is made of mildew and mold. She was saying they had just pressure washed their house, and I was saying how bad my sidewalk was looking again. (In case you don't know how crazy the mold and mildew can get, check out this post from last year when we pressure washed our porch and sidewalk for the first time!) Anyway, she said that they had a pressure washer and we could borrow it and she would bring it next week.

So yesterday, this student shows up and her dad and grandpa were with her and they brought TWO pressure washers with them and they pressure washed my porch, sidewalk, and driveway while I taught the lesson!!!! I mean seriously...people just don't do that kind of thing anymore! We're all too busy for random acts of kindness! I was just so thrilled, and so grateful, and so shocked, and so amazed! They are the nicest people ever! (Of course, I gave them several free lessons!) LOL Anyway, my faith in humanity was restored yesterday.

(And it was lost again today because I had to go to Walmart and you know how I feel about the way people act in Walmart!) Ugh!

All right. I have to go and do something useful. Hope everyone had a great Halloween! I promise to post pictures soon. :-)

reflections on 2006

It's hard to believe this year has come to an end. I'm a bit sorry to see it go, because overall, it's been a great year for Brian and I. I just counted (yes, I keep a list, of course) and I've read 68 books this year. That's a lot of reading, and I love it! I hope to read at least that many more in 2007!

I lost 40 pounds this year and got my health under control. I allowed myself some treats over Christmas, especially Giovanni's pizza, but I didn't gain a pound. :-D This week will be back to exercising full time! With it being 82 degrees here today, I don't think my walking outside will be a problem!

I scrapped over 140 pages and made over 150 cards this year! Whoa!

Brian had back surgery this year and is feeling great, despite many hours in the car over the holidays.

Brian got laid off from EA and now works for n-Space. It was a good move - he's in a job that he loves and there's nothing that can compare to that!

We paid off all of our credit card debt this year! YAAAYYYYY! I still can't believe it. I hated making payments on those cards - I couldn't even remember what most of that money had bought in the first place.

We're so happy in our church and in our home. We still miss NY. Maybe we'll get back there someday. But FL has definitely been good for us, especially health-wise. As we were driving home on Friday and crossed into Florida, it was the first time I really felt like Florida was home. :-D

Tonight we are spending some quality time together to ring in the new year. I'm already in my pajamas, we've ordered pizza, and Brian is gone to rent a movie. We're going to curl up on the couch together. I can't wait. Brian has to work tomorrow, can you believe it?? And we were so busy over Christmas, we didn't get much quality time together. So tonight we're quietly welcoming 2007 and bidding farewell to 2006.

January has a lot of things in store for us! Well, for me, anyway! Brian is working on a cool game for the Wii - he's been working on it since he started at n-Space in March, but it's nearing completion, so he's under deadline. I'm excited for Winter Scrapfest at Lifetime Moments! This time, I'm a points-counter and I'm SO EXCITED about that! I love love love Scrapfest and I was lucky enough to be one of the winners this past summer! I have like 400 pictures from Christmas and from my nephews and nieces to scrap, so I'm ready to go. Also in January, I'm hoping to get a few more piano students. Sometime this winter/spring I'm going to finish my Kindermusik training. And I still have 20 pounds to lose. :-D

As we say goodbye to 2006, I want to leave you with some lyrics from a song we sang at church this morning. We praise God for the work He has done in our lives this year, and we trust Him in the years to come.

We will remember, we will remember,
We will remember the work of Your hands.
We will stop and give You praise,
For great is Thy faithfulness!

a year end poem

These past few weeks have been the craziest Christmas season I can ever remember! Time has absolutely gotten away from me, and I'm frantically trying to get things ready to go on our trip in just a few short days. Did I mention that I ordered stamps online from the USPS and they got lost in the mail? Ironic, huh? Well, they came today. Looks like my Christmas cards will be sent out before Christmas after all. I wrote a poem to enclose, but I'm sending 88 cards and there's just not time to make all the copies. So I thought I'd just post it here. This will probably be my last post before we leave, so we want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas, a happy New Year, and a safe holiday season.

------------------------------------------

This year of '06 has brought many events,
And more will arrive 'fore December is spent.
So without ado, I just want to share
Some stuff about us – and told with a flair!

We've now lived in Florida for over a year,
And we are becoming quite settled down here,
Though we still are not really used to the heat.
(We still think that New York just cannot be beat!)

We began our year with a bit of strange news:
EA laid off Brian, despite rave reviews
Of his programming skills, personality, brains -
But we know that their loss is truly our gain!

He's working for n-Space and still making games
For folks like Nintendo and others of fame.
He loves it, he says it's his favorite job yet!
Saying goodbye to EA, we do not regret!

For the spring and summer, I used some old skills
I'd developed in college, to help pay the bills.
I did freelance writing, wrote stuff for the 'net,
And it was by far my most laid back job yet.

I loved working at home and at my own pace,
And when that job ended I wore a sad face.
Since then I've been teaching piano again.
I'd missed it so much - what fun it has been!

In late March, we found my blood pressure was high.
The doctor said, “Exercise! Or you could die.”
It's amazing what that piece of news did for me.
I'm eating well, working out, being healthy.

And would you believe I've dropped 40+ pounds?
But what's even better – my BP is down!!
I've gone down three sizes and the very best part
Is knowing each day I have a healthy heart.

In October, we celebrated SIX years
Of wedded bliss, laughter, happiness, and cheer.
And then, Brian had surgery on his back!
He feels so much better - and no more ice pack!

We've finally found a church that we love -
It truly has been a gift from above.
And I get to play keys and sing in the band!
You can be quite sure that our church is not bland!

This year has brought visitors, travels, and fun,
Many trips to Disney, and days filled with sun!
Come see us, or if you're in town, let us know!
We'll meet you for lunch, dinner, or a show!

Overall, we're thankful, we're happy, we're healthy.
In family and friends, we know we're quite wealthy.
We love you, we miss you, we hope you are well.
Please call us and tell us what there is to tell!

This Christmas, take time to remember the birth
Of Jesus, God's Son, Who came down to earth
To save us, live with us, for He is the reason
We celebrate this blessed, glorious season!

Love to you all.

~Brian and Kerri

musings on an outdoor walk

This evening, I took my first outdoor walk since June. Oh boy, did I miss it! It was such a nice walk - probably one of the most pleasant walks I've ever had. I went 3 miles and there was such a nice little breeze - I hope the weather stays this way so I can continue to walk in the evenings!

Some things I noticed while I was walking:

*There are nine houses for sale in my neighborhood.
*Seven of them were for sale when I started walking in March. (!)
*The local high school marching band is playing Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry About A Thing" on the field this year! It sounds awesome! (the high school is RIGHT NEXT to my neighborhood - so close that I can hear the bell ring and the intercom announcements)
*At least one person in my neighborhood is putting in a new pool.
*One person has painted their house since I stopped walking outside in June.
*When I heard the marching band practicing, I was so overwhelmed with wonderful memories of my OWN high school band experience, I couldn't even concentrate on the book I was listening to.
*I LOVE walking outside; I hate the treadmill.
*My exercise clothes are getting too big for me - especially my shorts!

Brian and I saw a great movie with Tim and Christi on Sunday evening - "The Illusionist." I'll admit that I wasn't so excited to see it. It seemed like a "Brian" type of movie, so I went along just to humor him, all the while thinking, "Why don't we ever see movies I want to see?" But it ended up being a really great film. And there was no language (that I can remember). Plus, I've liked Edward Norton ever since I saw him in "Fight Club."

I calculated today that I have lost 17.6% of my body weight!

In other news, work is going great, Brian's work is going great, church is still awesome, and we're happy. We still miss New York. I may never stop missing New York. But we are enjoying it here more and more. Ooh! My best-friend-ever-in-the-whole-wide-world-since-birth, Jenni, along with her husband and adorable son, are coming to Disney in less than a month! And we get to go hang out with them! I can't WAIT to see them! :-)

I did my weight training today.

We're going to my family reunion later this month - we haven't gone in FIVE YEARS!!

I can't wait till tomorrow evening when I can walk OUTSIDE again!!!!

Is anyone else coming to Orlando anytime soon? If so, please let us know! We'll do dinner or something!

contentment

Ahhh - as I prepare for sleep, I'm just overwhelmed by the blessings I've received lately. Life in Florida is getting better and better, and although I miss New York and especially my friends and students there, I'm starting to feel at home in this blistering state. Have I told you how much I love our church? LOL It seems like every week, God blesses our services and blesses Brian and I with new friends.

Today, one of the girls who sings on the praise team came all the way up here to my house! I've been getting to know all the girls on the praise team pretty well, especially since almost all of them were at the crop at church a few weeks ago! I didn't even know they scrapped! :-) But anyway, Heather came up today and we had a great time just talking and laughing. We had planned to go shopping, but we couldn't shut up long enough to get in the car! (Imagine that!) We finally went out and had dinner and shopped a little before she had to head back down south. She is just so much fun and she's a talented decorator, so she gave me some ideas for my house. It was awesome!

I'm really enjoying my new (temporary) job! It's just busy work, but it's fun for me and it's nice to have a schedule. We're eating at more normal times - before I was having lunch sometimes at 3 or 4:00 and dinner at 9 or 10! Brian is getting up with me and going in to work earlier, which means he gets to leave earlier. Soon it will be cool enough to walk outside together in the evenings and I'm looking forward to that. While I'm LEARNING to enjoy exercise (can you feel the sarcasm), the treadmill is really starting to bore me. Walking outside is MUCH MUCH better for me, personally - it keeps my eyes occupied and that helps pass the time. So I can't wait for it to cool off - even if it was in the 80's it would feel downright cold!

Only seven more articles for me to write, and then my writing project will be complete. I'll miss it, but I hope to still do some freelancing now and then. Now that I have some experience at it, I feel more confident about pitching ideas. Normally you pitch an idea to a publication, and they hire you to write what you've pitched. In other words, they buy the article BEFORE you write it. (The writing job I've worked on most recently buys the articles before you write them, but assigns topics.) Brian has been doing some writing too, and I definitely expect to see some of his stuff in print someday.

I'm rambling. I didn't really have a lot to say tonight, but I just feel content and wanted to share it. I wish I had time to communicate with all of my friends from everywhere more often. Some of my fab college friends are reading this blog and I'm so glad for the Internet that keeps us better in touch. I know my NY girls are reading - I miss you guys so much, I know you know that.

To the Farinaccis - you have no idea how much I miss you. I've started several times to write you a note, but it makes me sad. I miss you most on Mondays! I also have a package I've been meaning to send you - maybe someday I'll actually make it to the Post Office. Susie, thanks for your words of encouragement this past winter. I love you guys! I'm sorry I haven't been in better touch. Oh, and I planted some Salvia Farinacea in my garden in honor of you! (I couldn't believe it when I saw that plant!)

i am not my hair

Have you heard this song by India.Arie? First of all, I love her. I think she's ultra-talented and a lot of her songs have a very positive message. Lately I've been hearing a lot about looks and how important they are. Sometimes when I'm watching TV I'm just amazed at how skinny some of the celebrities are. I told Brian the other day, "She's so small, it doesn't seem like there would be room for her insides!"

I wish our society didn't put such an emphasis on looks. I wish I could go out in shorts and a t-shirt with no makeup and be treated the same as I'm treated when I have on a nice outfit and my makeup is done. But the reality is, how I look is directly related to how I'm treated. It's interesting. But sad. Anyway, here are some of the lyrics to India's new song:

I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations, no
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within.

Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person?
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend?
Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity?
I am expressing my creativity.

Cool, huh? This is the same girl who, a few years back, sang:

Sometimes I shave my legs and sometimes I don't
Sometimes I'll comb my hair and sometimes I won't
Depending how the wind blows I might even paint my toes
It really just depends on whatever feels good in my soul.

I'm not the average girl from your video
And I ain't built like a supermodel
But I learned to love myself unconditionally because I am a queen.
I'm not the average girl from your video
My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes
No matter what I'm wearing I will always be India Arie.

When I look in the mirror the only one there is me
Every freckle on my face is where it's supposed to be
And I know my creator didn't make no mistakes on me
My feet, my thighs, my lips, my eyes, I'm lovin' what I see.

Once again, awesome lyrics. We need more of this these days. Especially our little girls, who are growing up and learning that the most important thing is to be pretty and skinny.

Give India a listen.